Deep Springs
Deep Springs College is a unique institution of higher learning. The educational program is built upon three pillars: academics, student self-government, and manual labor. The school is located forty miles from Bishop, California on an isolated cattle ranch in Deep Springs Valley.
Vision
Deep Springs has been singularly motivated by its mission to “prepare young people for a life of service to humanity,” which can be seen throughout the day-to-day operation of the College.
Core values
Academics, student self-government & manual labor are the three pillars of learning at Deep Springs. Students are expected to dedicate themselves to lives of service to humanity, take real responsibility for and ownership of the community. Students are treated not as consumers but as creators of their education and as stewards of a joint intellectual project.
Program
Classes, which are constructed around seminar-style discussion and often have fewer than eight participants, rely heavily on student preparation, participation and engagement. Students are encouraged to think critically on how each course can improve, attempting to improve their own participation, giving feedback to other students and the professor, and often helping decide questions of class structure. A ‘Student Body’ is formed and is responsible for many aspects of running the College, admitting students, hiring faculty, and reviewing student and faculty performance.
Between twelve and fifteen students are admitted each year. Each receives a full scholarship; the college covers the costs of tuition, room, and board for every student offered admission. In exchange, Deep Springs students are expected to dedicate themselves to lives of service to humanity.
Practices
Each student also labors roughly twenty hours each week. Labor positions include working on the farm and ranch, as well as daily tasks of cooking, cleaning, and maintaining facilities and vehicles.